Wood River times. [volume] (Hailey, Idaho) 1882-1915, 1887-09-24
CALUANY vs.. CHARACTER.

CALCAN1 vs.. CHARACTER.
Ths 3sAl Sin Of Tho Newspapers They
n Net Drive Hnoagh Mad Hen into
Banishmsut.
psss,aaA osssoai.a.l
II Il often asserted that the press 10
rssponsibls for the fact that Official
life in this country is every year be.
coming less attractive to men Of abil.
ity and brains, who find nothing to
compensate them for their labor and
ho"sst sndeavors to promote the pub.
lilo good, while they are under daily
dread Of nswspapsr denunciation a.
corrupt whenever they happen to an
tagonixe the press. In tho 6rst place,
We do not believe it Is fact that men
OF ability and character are ever
driven out Of public life by the So
called license OF the press and even
whom they are VIGOROUSLY without
character they often manage to stay
in public life and shjoy . good deal
OF comfort. 1t is plausibly argued
that the better aud more thoughtful .
man is. the more ksenly sensitive he
Is to the reckless imputstion of base
motives or corrupt conduct, and that,
therefore, this exaggerated form Of
the license Of the press Is not terror
10 thiok.skinned evil-doers half so
much - It Is to pure. minded, honora-
bic men, who weary OF systematic
m,srsprssentation and malicious de.
traction, of bad names, that, affixed
with satanic skill, often stick like .
brother even to good men beyond the
possibility OF any satisfactory efface.
msnt or mitigation, until death has
cooled the world into . more candid
and considerate mood.
The theory that newspapers drive
good men, who are sensitive, into 20.
litical retire mcnt, is plausible, but has
little foundation in fact. Men who
retire from politics, under the Ere OF
even we'll served newspaper battery,
are, like soldiers who run away in
battle, sometimes very worthy domes.
tic fowls, but not ct to shine in war.
Stout old Dr.. johnson, with oharac-
tsristic strong sense, used to say that
he did not understand how sarossm,
rsprimand, or newspaper editorial
could really make any man unhappy.
"What harm does it do to q man to
call him Holofernes?" said he to Gold.
smith. "Poh, ma'am!" he exclaimed
70 Mrs. Carter, "who is the worse for
being talked Of uncharitably?" Julius
Cesar had moro sense than Napoleon,
tor Whenever 4 particularly severe and
caustio attack was made upon him
Cesar invariably invited the author to
dinner, and it was = cold day in Rome
when his wit. wine and game dinners
wore not able to break the point OF
that free lance Tor the future.
In 1872 the political air was full of
personal fslsehood about Grant. He
held his psaoe. aud gradually one by |
one the stories Of tho Seneca stone |
quarry, the Long Branch cottage, the
Chicago lots, aud al the rest were
shown TO be utterly false and the
President wholly Innocent. After the |
suspension Of the First National Bank |
10 Washington. it WAS said that q
little tin boz, containing Grants spe.
sisl deposit Of some thousands OF dol.
lars. had been hurriedly returned to
him early In the morning of tho fail
urs, while the other depositors, in.
ex.Presid-nt johnson, who
had 3l6, 900 in the bank, were allox we'd
70 whistle for their money. 1t was
also charged that Grant was allowed
iassress on his balance. Grant pexer
opened his mouth, but it turned out
that hs had no special deposit in the
bank, WAS not allowed interest on any
had no balance when the
essk stopped, and had no little tin
box there. Grant was q sensitive
man. bu, he did not scream in public
~ Cleveland did at the Harvard Col.
ego banquet, because some mosquito
had bitten him and his
vile. Washington sometimes swore
10 cabinet meetings over the Aurora's
|ibels on his character, but he did no.
sry 10 public. nor propose to retire to
he convent OF private life. /
The difficult thing to do Is not to
,sll or describe man a. Judas, bat
. prove him Judas; and until that is
lone no man with red head and cold
yes need despair Of justice.
Character does pass for something
nth good men, however little it may
'ount with tho scurrileus and ,nalsvo.
snt Men Ia politics and out OF pol.
tics know this, and no man, worth his 4
alt TO the public service. was ever
lrivsn out BY the newspapers unless
% dssarvsd to be driven out. The
in OF the newspapers is not that they
Isep good men out of the public ser.